Looking Back
by Ayumu Foxtail-chan
Summary: Arachne recounts some of her memories of her sister and how they had once been so close.


**Hello! A little one-shot about Arachne and Medusa's relationship as sisters. A bit of what I pictured anyway. XD **

**Enjoy!**

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_**Looking Back**_

Eight legs were not better than two. Perhaps she'd thought that in the big picture she'd rather have eight legs, they seemed more functional after all, but after she was forced to reside in a small body with four times the spindly legs, she decided she hated the number. All of the legs moved separately, and every once in a while she would trip, cursing to herself and picking her tiny furry body up again.

Yes, after she'd been forced to split herself into thousands of tiny measly little spiders, she'd begun to look at the world differently. She was so small, so weak, so helpless. She feared shoes. _Shoes. _Arachne did not fear something as pointless as shoes, and yet here she was, dreading the day that a man with hard soles would walk by.

She had been reduced to a life of clambering around in fear, all because of her sister. As she quickly scuttled up a drain pipe she snarled to herself in frustration. If it hadn't been for that little brat Medusa she might've been fine. She would've been in her body, safe and sound, instead of this. This was hell, she had decided.

Of course having thousands and thousands of bodies meant having thousands and thousands of eyes. All of those eyes could watch carefully, gathering information about everything under the sun until the day came that she could rise once again. That was the only upside to her situation, and she was bound and determined to keep her focus on that.

She reached the top of the pipe and quickly skittered into the gutter, huddling into a corner of the plastic and sighing to herself in relief. It didn't look as if rain was coming, and for that she was grateful. She would stay in the gutter overnight, listening to what she could hear in the alleyway below, and then falling asleep.

But as she settled herself down, her mind was far away. It wasn't on the dirty homeless man in the alleyway, snoring loudly as he dropped his empty bottle of wine; it was on the snake woman she loathed so much.

Her sister, Medusa. She hated her. She hated her because of her betrayal. Although her hatred never stayed long. Instead replaced by memories of their past. Yes, Arachne wished to loath Medusa wholeheartedly, and yet somehow she couldn't.

They'd grown up together, along with their third and youngest sister, and they had been inseparable. Back in the day Arachne had considered Medusa her best friend. Shaula was the odd one of the bunch, and so instead of staying and conversing with her or her aristocratic parents, Arachne preferred the company of her younger sister, Medusa.

When had Arachne exactly started disliking Medusa anyway? She couldn't remember. They'd grown apart after a while, but still remained friends. Arachne in a way believed she would be good friends with her sister for the rest of her life, and yet somehow she had betrayed her. She had gone against everything Arachne had expected, and betrayed her. It hurt.

She sighed to herself again. When they were younger everything seemed to be so wonderful, so carefree, so… happy. It had for a very long time, and even when it began to not feel so happy anymore, they still had each other.

Arachne smiled in spite of herself. Yes, those were the days.

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"Don't bring that into the house; Mother will scream," Arachne smirked down at her smaller blonde sister, a snake in the smaller child's hands.

Medusa looked up with large eyes, "But he's so sweet. Why would she scream?"

Arachne shook her head before pointing out into the backyard, "She doesn't like snakes. Go put it back outside."

"But I don't _wanna_," Medusa whined, stamping her foot on the concrete. The yellow and black snake twisted around her arm before slithering up the sleeve of her shirt, although she didn't look as if she cared.

Arachne steeled her gaze. Her little sister had just passed her third birthday and was apparently beginning to understand the term 'defiance'. Unfortunately. "You know she kills all the spiders in the house; if you bring that thing in here she'll kill it too. Do you want her to kill it?"

Medusa's eyes widened and she shook her head quickly, panic on her face. She jumped around frantically until the small snake came tumbling out of her sleeve. It hit the pavement with a slap and quickly slithered away into the petunia garden, disappearing into the greenery.

Medusa frowned deeply before shoving past her sister and stomping into the house. "I don't understand why Mother doesn't like these creatures. First she doesn't like your spiders, now she doesn't like my snakes. Next thing you know she'll be protesting scorpions."

Arachne's eyes widened for a moment before she nodded. Their small baby sister had been caught playing happily with a scorpion a few days ago and they had quickly thrown it out before their mother had time to see it. Arachne closed the back door with a smile. The Gorgon girls all seemed to have taken a liking to at least one creepy crawly thing, and their mother had hated it, just as any mother would.

Arachne shook her head, "She doesn't like them because they're gross. At least that's what she said."

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"Medusa, sit up straight dear. More like your sister."

Arachne peered out of the corner of her eye as Medusa made a face, rolling her eyes before straightening her back flat against the chair. They were practicing for a dinner party, and while Arachne had given into the fact that she'd be pestered by her parents to sit and act properly, Medusa hadn't.

Their mother turned her back and Arachne leaned to the side, "I always slump when she's not looking. Just to spite her," she whispered in her sister's ear.

She saw Medusa's face alight and a sparkle come to her eye. She nodded at her bigger sister and suddenly it became a game.

Throughout the entire night it became a fun little competition to see who could slump the farthest without their parents realizing it. Medusa slumped so far her chin rested on the table. Arachne leaned back in her seat and tipped her chair till she was nearly falling over. Medusa jumped out of her chair and hid behind it before scrambling back into her seat when her mother began to turn. Arachne slid under the table and camped out under there for a while until her sister gave her a hand motion to let her know she had been noticed.

Arachne was refined, as she had been raised, and Medusa was not. Medusa went against all of the family's rules, and Arachne never had until she had humored Medusa and tried it out for herself. She found that breaking the rules was fun, and it was even more fun when you had an accomplice. Of course she was still very ladylike, much to Medusa's dismay, but she told her sister over and over again that that was just how she was.

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"Mmm, try some."

Medusa's eyes turned to saucers. "Wine? I'm not old enough. I still got a few years to go."

Arachne made a face, "First of all, _I'm _still not technically old enough; second, who cares how old you are; and third, it's _champagne _not wine."

Medusa shook her head as her sister took another long sip from the slender glass holding the golden liquid. "I think I'll pass on this one."

Arachne shrugged, "Fine, suit yourself. You're missing out. It's wonderfully delicious.

Medusa slouched, "You sound like Mom. Don't you go turning into an alcoholic too."

Arachne chuckled down at her sister and shook her head, "Mother's not an alcoholic. I mean, she's close, but not quite there yet." When she saw Medusa's worried look didn't fade she sighed, shoving the cork back into the bottle reluctantly. As much as she loved the stuff she figured her sister's peace of mind was more important.

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"Stop that, _ow, _no stop!" Medusa whined, slapping Arachne's hands off of her hair.

"No, _you _stop. The people at school say your hair looks hideous and I have to admit it kind of does. Why must you insist on having it tied in front of you? It's awfully… original," Arachne said, making a face and again reaching forward to grab her sister's braid.

"Stop!" Medusa hissed, smacking her sister's hands away again, "I like it this way."

"Short in the back and long in the front? What are you, a hillbilly?" Arachne eyed Medusa's braid in front of her body with disgust. It was odd, to say the least, and she, as much as everyone else, wanted it gone.

"I think it looks good," Medusa whined, fingering the end of the braid. "Nagizas likes it."

Arachne rolled her eyes, "Stop calling him that. He's a _snake; _he doesn't have opinions on hair. For goodness sake just let me brush it at least."

Medusa frowned, her nostrils flaring, but nodded, allowing Arachne to reach forward and grab her hair. "For the record, Nagizas is sweet, he cares about my feelings and he likes my hair the way it is. And don't you get all judgmental. I know you named that spider in our bathroom."

Arachne stifled a flinch. Indeed she had lovingly come to call the tiny arachnid in their bathroom Stewart. At least it had a more realistic name than Medusa's snake. She pulled the tie out of her little sister's hair and undid the braid; yanking a brush through the mess with some effort.

"At least twist it, like this," Arachne said, dividing the hair in two chunks and intertwining them together, "It looks better than a braid. _Better, _not good," she clarified when Medusa's face alighted at the compliment.

Medusa nodded quickly, "I like it this way too. You think Nagizas will?"

Arachne rolled her eyes, "I don't know. Go ask him." And to her surprise her sister nodded, jolting up from her seat on the floor before flying out of the room to go ask her snake.

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Arachne assumed that was when it all got a little more serious. Only about a week later their worlds had been turned upside down when their parents had been unexpectedly killed in a car crash. Maybe Medusa had been right, and their mother _had _been an alcoholic.

But all Arachne knew was that that was when she got closer with Medusa. They had been shipped off to an orphanage. Their parents, no matter how rich, had somehow neglected to compose a will, and so their house and all of their belongings had been taken away from them.

Arachne had been close to the legal age to live on her own, and to be able to take care of her sisters, but since she wasn't technically old enough, they had been sent off to that god-awful adoption agency.

She remembered night after night ticking off the days on the calendar until she could take her sisters away from the place, and rocking back and forth in her bed. Medusa would spend the night with her most of the time, and she assumed that was when they grew to be the closest.

Arachne remembered whispering reassurances in Medusa's ear; that soon they'd be out and free to live their own lives again. She remembered how long it took, and she remembered the day that she turned eighteen, and she was able to take her sisters and leave.

At first it had been everything she'd dreamt it to be. She was able to find a place to live that didn't cost much, and she was happy to keep her sisters there. However after a while she realized they weren't as content as she was; they wanted something more. They had grown up in the lap of luxury, and Arachne had to admit that even _she _was having a hard time without the lush carpets and high-quality alcohol.

They had then somehow found their way into the organization of witches, and that was when they had gone their separate ways.

She wasn't exactly sure where her sisters went. Shaula disappeared the day after they had arrived for some reason, and Medusa set off on her own only a few weeks afterwards. Arachne had said her goodbyes and watched her sister leave, and that was the last time she'd seen her until the day she was betrayed.

She figured after all they'd been through that they would be in good standings forever, however she had somehow along the way miscalculated.

Becoming a witch was both the most rewarding and the most devastating thing Arachne had done. She gained her wealth there, her dreams, her aspirations. She slowly but surely acquired all of the money she'd once had and more, along with people who followed her every beck and call. She'd discovered her fascination over weapons, and then created the first Demonic Weapon. Even if the other witches hated her for it, she was euphoric.

But she realized because of it somewhere she lost her sister and best friend. Medusa had betrayed her, for reasons unknown, and it was all because of being a witch. Something had changed Medusa, although Arachne couldn't begin to guess what.

She sighed, tucking her eight legs underneath her and staring blankly at the other side of the gutter. She'd been betrayed and yet somehow, even though she was angry and hurt, she would never truly hold a grudge against Medusa. They'd been through so much together after all; she didn't know how she could.

Arachne closed her eyes, wondering silently to herself again about exactly what caused Medusa to change. She figured she'd find out one day, goodness knows when, and then she'd finally have her answer. Because she _would _rise to power again, even if it killed her.

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**So what did you think? This is basically just my headcanon, dunno if anyone else feels that way, haha!**

**This is for the 'A-Maze-Ing Race Challenge'. My character was Arachne, and while this was difficult, as she's a rather odd character, it was fun!**

**If you let me know what you thought of it I'd be grateful! :D**

**~Foxtail-chan**


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